This guy... He really thought that!
Over a hundred people against one. The advantage was mine!
Andrew's veins bulged. "You're overestimating yourself!"
Two or three dozen sailors near the bow opened fire.
Ato yawned, drew the Demonic Sword of the Dark, and swung it casually. The bullets he didn't block were free to hit him, leaving conspicuous bloody holes.
"Want to know how your second mate died?" Ato slowly approached Andrew through the hail of bullets.
"It was you?!" Andrew's expression shifted. He'd sensed something was wrong at the Blaze Wave Tavern, but he hadn't expected the culprit to be right in front of him!
The sailors ran out of bullets and hurriedly fumbled with their magazines. With every step Ato took forward, they took one step back.
Andrew was at a loss. The bullets had clearly hit him. Why could he still move?
"I'm telling you, can your guns get any weaker? How about we settle this with bayonets?"
A knife fight? Was he kidding?
Andrew glanced at the ordinary cutlass hanging from his waist. He figured one tap against that Blood Red Greatsword would bring his career to an early end!
"Quick! Get the cannons!" Andrew shouted.
The guns had no effect, but he refused to believe the cannons couldn't do anything to this monster!
Andrew ran to one side, and the sailors all backed away. Soon, Ato was the only one left in the bow area.
Two black cannons were wheeled over and aimed toward the bow. The sailors operating them were just about to pull the firing levers when they realized Ato had vanished!
"Where is he? Wasn't this supposed to be a one-sided fight?"
Andrew felt like he was going mad. What had gone wrong? Why was the whole ship powerless against Ato?
He hadn't realized that the moment Ato had boarded using Teleportation Magic, the battle between Ato and the Leviathan had become a battle against the ordinary people aboard.
The Leviathan's advantages were useless!
Andrew was still searching everywhere for Ato, but before the cannons could fire, their barrels were cut off.
The barrels crashed heavily onto the deck. Ato was crouched there, tapping one with his finger!
"I can take the hits, but if you think I'm stupid enough not to dodge a cannonball that takes this long to fire, you're wrong."
Ato's body had already returned to normal. There wasn't a single bloodied hole left.
Andrew finally understood why there had been no blood at the Blaze Wave Tavern. This monster could absorb flesh and blood, and had an incredible ability to regenerate!
The second mate's disappearance had nothing to do with Miss Fortune!
But it was too late.
"Ahhh!"
A sailor standing behind Ato seemed to spot an opening. He drew his long knife and charged at Ato.
Ato shifted back into his sword-on-the-back stance. The sailor's attack was easily blocked by the greatsword. His blade struck the sword with a sharp crack and broke.
Ato turned with the motion and swung his sword horizontally. The sailor's blood gushed into the air.
The sailor's body began to melt. His face contorted in disbelief as he and his blood were absorbed into the Demon Sword.
Andrew had been right about one thing. It really was a one-sided fight.
The other sailors watched, finding it hard to breathe.
How could they fight him? How were they supposed to take down this monster?
They were used to the fighting and killing between pirates, used to settling battles with guns and cannons. But when every method failed, when they witnessed something beyond reason with their own eyes, ordinary people broke in an instant.
Madness overwhelmed reason. Some of them, like the sailor before, shouted and drew their blades to fight.
The rest rushed to the side of the ship and jumped into the sea.
All they wanted now was to get away from that monster. They didn't care that there wasn't a single island in sight where they could land!
"This isn't how it should be..." Andrew watched the crowd fall into chaos. Some were cut in half and absorbed by Ato; others leaped into the sea and vanished.
For the first time, he felt despair.
The barrage against the Siren continued, but every shot was blocked by a magic Light Screen. The Siren only shook a little.
What kind of monster was that mage? He'd stopped the entire warship's firepower by himself? How was that possible?!
With Miss Fortune having an ally like that, did Gangplank still think he could rule Bilgewater?
He'd have to hand it over to her outright and pray that Miss Fortune spared his life!
Andrew had lost all sense of direction in life that day.
"Kill him!" The frenzied sailors charged from every direction.
Once or twice, their blades struck Ato, leaving shallow cuts that healed within a breath. Meanwhile, the number of sailors surrounding him dwindled.
"Why are you all suddenly in such a hurry?" Ato was puzzled. Hadn't he only chopped up two cannons?
"Perfect. I've drawn the monster's aggro, so I can skip the running around. I wonder how long Ryze can hold out."
Ato sped up his harvesting of lives.
The once-bustling deck gradually fell silent. Only the gunners below continued dutifully at their posts, unaware of what was happening.
In just five minutes, no one on the deck was still alive except Ato and the catatonic Andrew.
Ato looked around to make sure no one else was there, then walked over to Andrew.
"Sarah said this guy seemed to be worth quite a bit. Old man, I won't absorb you. I'm already full from what I ate earlier."
"Now that I think about it, I've been bleeding Gangplank dry this whole time..." Aatrox said.
"Now that we're done with the deck, it's time to head below."
"Right." Ato ignored Andrew and walked toward the stairs leading below deck.
Andrew slumped to the ground, his eyes empty.
Even now, he still couldn't understand what had led to this. The crew was wiped out, and even the Leviathan was about to be taken by Sarah.
Gangplank was finished.
There was no one aboard who could stop that monster. It would be the same back in Bilgewater, unless all Four Great Terrors took orders from Gangplank.
Wait, could the Four Great Terrors really defeat him? Andrew didn't know.
Sarah was grateful to have met Ato and Ryze.
The Siren had no choice but to take a beating in front of the Leviathan. If Ryze's magic hadn't blocked most of the firepower, the Siren would have already capsized in the sea.
As it was, the ship only rocked a little, making it hard to keep their footing.
To the other crew members, Ryze was practically a god descended to earth, every bit Ato's equal.
First, Ato had protected everyone during the Harrowing. Now Ryze was holding off the entire firepower of a warship!
What was happening to the world? Were ordinary people not allowed to survive anymore?
Just then, the cannon fire began to let up.
The deafening noise died away, replaced by screams that had been drowned out by the guns.
With the cannons no longer suppressing them, Sarah and the others noticed the many people in the sea, shouting and struggling as though they were terrified out of their minds.
They thrashed wildly. Once they ran out of strength, they sank beneath the surface and never came back up.
Before you continue